North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Golf Tees It Up
9/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 14, 2004
NC State enters its fifth season of women's golf in 2004-05. Head coach Page Marsh has directed the Wolfpack to three straight NCAA regionals and looks to build upon NC State's success this season.
Three starters from NC State's ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regional lineup return this year, as seniors Ashlee Dean, Colby Cobb and junior Lorraine Ballerano look to solidify the top three spots on the travel squad. The competition for the remaining two slots will be led by junior Molly Birmingham, sophomore Nancy Mountcastle and a foursome of talented freshmen.
"We have two spots that have to be filled, and we're excited to see who steps up and fills these spots to help us reach our goals," Marsh said. "Our disparity from top to bottom is smaller. Across the board we're in better shape than we've ever been. I feel good about it and I am very excited about this upcoming year."
Marsh has the Pack scheduled to play against some of the toughest fields in the nation, week-in and week-out this season.
"We shape our schedule every year to accomplish our goal of making the postseason," Marsh said. "That means we have to be prepared and ready to play in the postseason when we get there. It will always have a different feel, but we need to be ready to handle the pressure of playing in regionals to qualify for nationals. To play at nationals, we need to be performing at our highest level.
"We base all our coaching decisions, our scheduling and our practices, all year, towards the goal of becoming accustomed to the pressure of postseason play," Marsh continued. "We have an excellent schedule this year where we will be playing against some tough fields."
After making the NCAA regionals three straight years, NC State wants to raise the bar and qualify for the NCAA Championship.
"Building a program is a learning process and it takes drawing from past experiences to learn," Marsh said. "We just don't want to reach the postseason again; we want to reach the postseason and perform at our highest level when we get there.
"While the coaching staff can introduce and shape things, the player has to form their own hunger to succeed," Marsh continued. "We try to stay fit. We do yoga. We work with a sports psychologist. We work with a nutritionist. We work to shape practices so that we can be the best students we can be also. We're constantly juggling the demands on our student-athletes and working with them so that they can be the best that they can be."
Putting a premium on tournament play being the best form of practice, Marsh will again send some JV squads to a few tournaments this year.
"Anytime we can have more than five people who can go play at a tournament is an opportunity for us to gain valuable experience," Marsh said. "It is real clear that the arena in which we perform is that of a tournament. While we can try to shape things in practice to simulate that tournament atmosphere and work on every other component, from nutrition to mental and physical shape, we cannot replicate a tournament. Not even qualifying is the same as going to a tournament. Having the opportunity to play in JV events helps develop our players more quickly because they get to practice under tournament conditions and see under the pressures of a tournament, where they are on what they have been working on."
That philosophy seemed to pay off last season when several Wolfpack golfers came out of JV tournaments with favorable results and a renewed sense of confidence. In turn, the Wolfpack returns more experience to the roster this year than ever before.
"We are in a place in our program now where we can have people with experience who can now help lead the new players into the program," Marsh said. "It's an education process. We've come a long way in the past four years. We want to build a program of excellence, and it's about educating them, creating a culture and having them desire those goals. Then they teach people who come in about the flavor here at NC State. Women's golf is like Baskin Robbins. There is a flavor out there for everybody. Our flavor here is dictated by the conference we're in."
The ACC is widely considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, women's golf conference in the nation year-in and year-out.
"The ACC is a high caliber of talented golf and that is what we want at NC State - an ACC level program," Marsh said. "That means a nationally ranked program.
"That is why we play the schedule we do," Marsh continued. "That is why we want to recruit people who want to play to the best of their abilities, whether they turn professional or not. In women's golf some of the greatest career amateurs never turn pro, but in golf you're able to play this sport for a lifetime. So whether you desire to be a professional or not, that does not stop you from competing against the best people in golf always."
Looking for leadership, Marsh will turn to her four seniors: Cobb, Dean, Sarah Davis and Leslie Stubblefield.
"Colby showed the type of commitment last spring that we like to see on our team," Marsh said. "She was very focused, driven and committed to doing the things she needed to do for herself and her team. She diligently took lessons and worked on her game. I always tell the team my banking philosophy, that if you make your deposits with patience and inner confidence you do get to make your withdrawls. Since Colby has been doing that she has really reaped the benefits. Colby will be one of our captains this year, and if she continues to show the type of leadership that she showed last spring she will really help us by bringing confidence to other people.
"Sarah has continued to work on her golf," Marsh continued. "Sarah is a dedicated worker and we have been very pleased with her progress. Because of her effort and great attitude, she will be provided with a great opportunity to have her hard work pay off.
"Ashlee provides us with great insight and works very hard," Marsh continued. "She has a great love for golf and loves to play. She's working on her ability to compete well under pressure. She won last season playing excellent golf and showing the type of golf that she is capable of playing under pressure. She held a lead for the better part of that last round and that is tough to do. Ashlee has really good insight into what it takes for a team to succeed. We really look to Ashlee to see what we're doing differently from one tournament to the next and help lead our team. She will be a team captain this year along with Colby.
"We want Leslie to come back healthy," Marsh continued. "She has had a string of injuries that have plagued her career and limited her playing time. She went home for the summer to dedicate herself to getting fit, well and play a tournament schedule. We are looking for her to have an injury-free senior year so that she can contribute in the fashion that we know that she can."
Two very experienced juniors, Ballerano and Birmingham, are coming off of very productive sophomore campaigns and add valuable depth to the Wolfpack lineup.
"Lorraine is a great competitor," Marsh said. "I know that on any given day Lorraine will give her very best effort. She is tenacious. Rising to the occasion of competition, she will provide our team leadership. She has a great understanding of what it takes to be an athlete. She goes about things in a very systematic and organized fashion, leading by example.
"Molly has the ability to shoot low scores," Marsh continued. "She has a natural talent coupled with a renewed interest in the game, making her a valuable leader on our team for her junior year. She has the ability to be one of the top golfers in the ACC this year." Mountcastle, the lone sophomore on the squad, is a fine example for the freshmen. She parlayed a solid spring into a very good summer.
"Nancy has worked so hard over the past year and with her enthusiasm and desire to get better she has become a very valuable part of this team," Marsh said. "She is extremely coachable and very positive. This summer she really committed herself to getting more tournament experience. She has great natural ability, but hadn't played as much golf. Nancy has a very bright future here at NC State."
Jessica Vincent and Lauren Harling hail from North Carolina, and their fellow freshmen are from oversees. Dawn-Marie Conaty calls Dublin, Ireland home and Stephanie Derrey is from Paris, France.
"Jessica is a great athlete. She played basketball and golf in high school and worked very hard in junior golf," Marsh said. "She loves to compete and comes from a very supportive family. She is taking lessons and going about things in a way that she is making all the deposits and those are going to pay off for us at NC State. We are looking forward to her athleticism and we're hoping to shape her into a competitive player. We've been watching her play since our program started and have been impressed with her abilities for a long time.
"Dawn-Marie comes from a golfing family and has international experience," Marsh continued. "She has been playing her whole life. She played on her national team. What impressed me with Dawn-Marie is her wonderful technique and great short game. She's a tenacious competitor. She is a very positive person with a confident personality.
"Stephanie was over here for a month last summer, and Dickie (Brewer) saw her at an AJGA event where we were watching someone else," Marsh continued. "It was a lucky day for us. Stephanie has been coming over for a number of summers to go to golf school at Pine Needles. She, too, comes from a golfing family and brings international experience. Stephanie's dream of coming to the States to play collegiate golf is being realized.
"Lauren is newer to the game in that she has only been playing for about five years," Marsh continued. "What we see in her, though, is similar to what we see in Nancy Mountcastle in that she will be someone who is open, coachable and continuing to improve. We feel that she has the qualities and desire to compete for playing time down the road. We are excited to have Lauren in our program."
The Wolfpack plans to keep its streak of NCAA regional appearances going in 2005, with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championship.
